by Philip

Day’s mileage : 39

Running total : 1,162

Ascent : 2,742ft

Wednesday.

Having a power cut at a place where we were staying was definitely not something we had planned for or even considered – so we had to improvise. All our batteries and gadgets were plugged in ready as we were told the power was expected to be back in the small hours. Dinner, instead of baked potatoes in the microwave, was left over sandwiches, crisps, tomatoes, and (cold) left over pasta bake followed by tinned fruit and chocolate mousse – unusual but tasty. We also found public WiFi on the top of a cliff which meant we could post a quick temporary blog so everyone knew we had arrived safely.

The Howard Creek Ranch Inn was astonishing – with Sally and Sunny, the owners, who bought it in its dilapidated state in 1973 and restored it themselves with reclaimed timbers from a building further north – this was the same year Liz’s parents bought their equally dilapidated farm house near Bristol and rebuilt it themselves. We had a wonderful breakfast of eggs on bagels, melon, water melon, orange and grapes – a feast!

Breakfast was offered at 9am, so it was a late start. The ride today is planned to be only 36 miles of gently undulating coastal road so we don’t expect to be late to our next port of call in Albion. 

Leaving the sanctuary of the ranch, we were back out on Highway 1, and enjoyed being close to the ocean, sometimes at sea level and sometimes 200’ above it, looking out from the cliff tops. There was a light coastal mist hanging among the trees inland. At one point a crow flew alongside me for a minute – not close enough to touch but not far off! We saw turkey vultures, a red-tailed hawk, deer, and then a verge full of red hot pokers which obviously thrive in the climate here. The road is very quiet with little traffic, but does have the temptation of stopping every 50’ to take another photo. Our first snack stop was at a “coastal vista point” and was stunning. I watched a heron fishing in a rock pool below as a pelican flew past gracefully.

The road then descended back to sea level past a eucalyptus grove, and then a tunnel made by trees, passing through pockets of very cold air which was unexpected. The road turned inland past a huge area of desolate dunes, and we went over the “Le” river. We cycled through a small hamlet and then into the village of Cleone, pop. 527, and onto a scenic coastal road which took us back to the beach and our lunch stop where we watched crashing waves and two surfers enjoying the water. There was a disused road which had been turned into a trail which took us for several beautiful miles right along the coast with multiple stops, including at a marine wildlife centre. The vegetation was amazing, with lots of wildflowers in every colour and lots of grasses making a lovely landscape. The trail took us into Fort Bragg where we did our daily shop for food.

Fort Bragg is the largest town for many miles, and Highway 20 joins Highway 1 to get through the town and over the bridge before splitting again and heading east. As a result, the narrow, virtually traffic-free road we had enjoyed suddenly became four lanes and busy for a mile or so. We had 15 miles left, and the road was inland for the first 10 without much of particular interest until we went over several bridges, each crossing a cove with brilliant aquamarine sea in full sunshine – simply stunning! The tailwind was very strong and we were almost blown up the hills.

We went down a hill with the sea shimmering at the bottom, and came across roadworks where we were given the priority treatment we have come to expect (!) and sailed down the hill. The road became narrower and twisty again, and up one forested stretch we encountered Ray, from Westerham in Kent, who had a well laden bike he was pushing up the hill. We had a chat, and discovered he has a flight to catch next week in San Francisco – he flew with his bike over here a while ago. We talked about bikes and told him he was a proper cyclist with a road bike and he replied “Not really … I’m walking, aren’t I?!”.

After another mile we found the Albion Haus – our accommodation for the night – large, spacious, airy and well equipped so hopefully dinner should be more traditional than yesterday’s!

Additional notes

Howard Creek Inn to Albion, Mendocino county, CA

Left at 10.45am. Arrived at 4.40pm. 

Weather: Sun and blue sky all day, cool with a strong tailwind. 

Landscape: The 1 winding alongside the azure ocean, a light coastal mist inland. Through tunnels of mature trees planted in a row on either side, where the air temperature plummeted. Sand dunes. Areas of meadow or prairie with forested hills beyond, to our left. A quiet road beside a beach with actual people sitting on it with chairs and beach umbrellas (a rarity on beaches so far). The Noyo Headlands Park, with a narrow trail around the headland. Highway 1 inland then over several bridges each crossing a cove, and rejoining the shimmering ocean. Finally narrow and twisty through occasional forest to Albion.

Towns: Westport, tiny. Fort Bragg, much bigger. Albion, tiny. 

Trails: A cycle track from the beach road to Fort Bragg, then a smaller track along the coastal path.

State roads: Highway 1, very quiet. 

Breakfast: Melon, orange and grapes, and two eggs on bagels, cooked and served by Sunny. Sunny and Sally ate with us. 

Lunch spot: At a picnic table overlooking the sea, turquoise or aquamarine with surfers despite big waves and rocks.

Dinner (C) : Delicious baked potatoes with butter, cheese, baked beans and surprisingly nice, if expensive, tinned veg. Raspberries and yogurt.

Wildlife: Barn swallows. Turkey vultures. Pelicans. Heron. Red-tailed hawk. Deer. 

Plants: Red hot pokers. Many, many eucalyptus. Sea thrift. Very colourful flowers all along the coast.

Things we saw: Westport Cemetery with a beautiful view over the sea. Surfers. A sign set in the cycleway pavement that read ‘Mexico 673 miles. Oregon —‘ but the second mileage had been worn away.

People we spoke to or saw: Sunny and Sally. They told us the old 101 just fell into the ocean to the south years ago. They also told us that about 30 years ago a PCH cyclist arrived during a storm, literally entered and fell on the floor soaked and exhausted. They put him in a room with a lit fire and he stayed for several days. He had no money and they called his sister to pay the bill! The lovely lady-owner of the shop at Westport where we stopped to thank them for offering to stay open to provide supper for us yesterday during the power cut. A man at a viewpoint who took photos for us and said we are super visible, he could see us two miles away and knew something was going on with our high-vis jackets and flashing lights. C and I chatted to two men at a small marine centre beside the cycle way. Ray from Westerham, pushing his laden bike up the hill, our first encounter with another PCH cyclist and our first (and ultimately our only) encounter with a UK cyclist. He started at the Mexican border, cycled to San Francisco, got the train to Seattle and was heading for his flight home from SFO next week.

Incidents: Getting raspberries when C asked me to get strawberries, because the strawberries were BOGOF which would have meant carrying 2lb of them. Not a good decision. I managed to ride my pannier into Ray’s pannier as I rode away and had to stop and start again.

Shopping: Safeway, Fort Bragg.

Accommodation: The Albion Haus, an old place but very smart, spacious and quiet. So clean! (a contrast to last night).

Today’s sound: Sunny singing and playing his guitar outside the inn.

Today’s smell: The eucalyptus trees.

Special moments: Walking to the beach on my own before anyone else was awake. And finding my missing cycling cap. My first realisation – don’t spend a single mile regretting. For the past few days I’ve already been thinking – don’t wish away a single mile. This is precious time. Tea and cookies when we arrived. Gathering eucalyptus bark and twigs to light the wood burner. Walking out to watch the sunset, then through the campsite and eucalyptus trees down to the beach at dusk.

Positive experience from my journal: Being on my own on the beach this morning. 

Appreciation from my journal: Not letting regret dominate this afternoon’s miles. 

Video: The sea this morning (13s + 26s). The nesting birds (32s). The rope walkway bridge at the inn (36s). E&P at roadside and ocean (8s + 8s). The ocean near Fort Bragg (9s + 31s). E&P riding beside the ocean near Fort Bragg (26m22s). P riding in MacKerricher State Park (2m14s). E riding through MacKerricher State Park (13m5s). P riding on a path (5s). The sea at Mendocino (7s). 

Mementos: Safeway receipt, Fort Bragg.